spelljammerfandomcom-20200214-history
Hummingbird
The Hummingbird is a unique spelljamming ship built and used by humans. Description A unique vessel built by the Royal Engineers of Thesalys in Greatspace, the Hummingbird is intended as a royal yacht and court ship, often used for carrying dignitaries. The wings protruding from the craft have a purpose other than aesthetics. The magical energies of the spelljamming helm are focused through these wings, causing them to vibrate rapidly. This is what gives the ship its impressive maneuverability, yet the vibration is so smooth, and the engineering of the ship so flawless that the vibrations have not noticeable effect to someone on board the Hummingbird. The ship's primary weapon is equally as impressive as its engineering. The long beak of the craft, as well as serving as a piercing ram, houses a magical ship-to-ship combat weapon. In the forward part of the ship is a Magic Missile device. A wizard with the Magic Missile spell (or a user of a Wand of Magic Missiles) may cast it into the large crystal mounted on the device (this is an exception to the general rule that Magic Missiles can only target creatures and not objects), and the spell will be absorbed, amplified, and launched from the tip of the ship's beak. A single missile may be launched each round, causing a number of hull points of damage equal to 1 HP per missile that was fired into the device. For example, a mage who casts a Magic Missile spell creating 5 missiles will be able to fire a single missile from the beak causing 5 HP of damage. Unlike the normal missiles fired by the Magic Missile spell, the amplified missiles do not hit unerringly, but rather have the same range and THAC0 as a light ballista. Magic Missiles cast into this device must be amplified and used immediately and cannot be stored for future use. Since only one missile may be fired each round, if multiple Magic Missile spells are cast into the device in the same round, only the highest level caster's spell will be accepted, and any others will be wasted. Crew The Hummingbird operates with a single captain and helmsman, requiring no other crew to keep it functioning at peak efficiency. In practice, however, the crew always consists of the captain and two helmsmen, allowing one wizard to always be at the helm, while another is available to cast spells into the Magic Missile device if needed. In addition to this crew, the Hummingbird will usually be carrying 1-4 dignitaries. Ship Uses Court Ship: The Hummingbird is exclusively used by the royal family of Greatspace as a court ship, transporting dignitaries and taking small parties on pleasure cruises. Other Configurations Since the Hummingbird is currently unique (there has been talk of building more of the craft to serve as private yachts for wealthy noble families), there are no other configurations. References * Spelljammer reference: SJA3, 9299XXX1401 * TSR reference: TSR 9299 * ISBN: Category:Ships Category:Named spelljamming ships Category:SJA3 canon